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Stockton-to-Malone Leftovers: The Mailman was consistent

Since we’re now smack dab in the middle of the offseason, I’ll be throwing up some S2M leftovers I didn’t get a chance to include during Stockton-to-Malone Week. Here’s the first installment.

We all know that Karl was a model of consistency on the court. 25/10/10 FTAs per night, 82 games per season, 6’9″/256 every October. We also know that Karl talked a lot. Talk-wise, he was pretty consistent too.

Karl in 1992:
“I’d love to win a championship,” he says, “but, honestly, not so much for myself. You can believe this or not, but I’d love to win it for the true fans who have watched me grow.”

“I guess no matter where I went or what I did, the country never really left me.” (SI, 4/27/1992)

Karl in 2003:
“Hopefully, the fans appreciate what we tried to do for this organization and for them. Those people in the $20 seats are just as important as those people in the $300 seats. I appreciate them as fans, and I appreciate the opportunity they’ve given me here.” (“Duo’s days near end,” Denver Post, 4/30/2003)

Karl in July 2010:
“It’s not about the Utah Jazz. It’s not about Karl Malone. It’s about the state. I want for a brief moment–good, bad, indifferent, like me, don’t like me–I want the people here in Utah to realize that it’s their moment as well.” (KALL)

“I tried to play hard every single time, whether it’s for the person that paid $2-3000 on the floor, or for the person up there that paid $20-25. I tried to play hard for them.” (ABC4)

Karl’s Hall of Fame speech:
“I’m country. I love it. This is me.”

“It was not about me. It was about trying to do something to make everybody proud.”